My name is Deann Towne, and this winter break I went on a service trip to New Orleans. We partnered with the organization Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, where they build affordable housing for educators in neighborhoods struck by floods and hurricanes. We ended up working on a house in the ninth ward, which was struck the worst by Hurricane Katrina, as well as a community garden known as Ms. Gloria’s Garden. After these hurricanes ravaged most of this neighborhood, efforts were put into place to rebuild and bring people back into the area, but even 15 years later after Katrina, empty lots still exist in a place that used to be filled to the brim with families. Visiting New Orleans and seeing this side of the city opened my eyes up to the realization that they are far from being recovered from this hurricane and others like it, and people like John, the YRNO leader, are the ones who are trying to make it happen.
Seeing places that have never fully recovered like the ninth ward, and where the levees broke that made Katrina so devastating made something I’ve only read about in books so much more real, and made me realize that actual families and people lost their homes and their lives to something that could very well happen again. On the flip side, being there and helping them build this home made my trip so worthwhile and going back is something I’m definitely planning on doing again. New Orleans was a great first service trip for me, and it made me realize what we can do in our communities and in other communities around the globe even, and I plan on going on more of these service breaks again in the near future. This trip wasn’t all serious, though, and I loved that as well. We saw the French Quarter and Bourbon Street and all of these places that I’ve seen in movies and pictures in real life, and it was lifechanging. New Orleans is such an amazing city with so much culture and life and fun in it, and you can’t find it anywhere else on earth. I will admit however, I didn’t expect to want to work so much. As soon as we finished, I was ready to go back and get more done, I think because I realized what were doing this for and it made me that much more excited to do it
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Going to the Whitney Plantation was also a large part of our trip, and it was amazingly moving. The plantation is beautiful with large oaks and grasses and ponds, but there is a lingering dread in the air because of the things that happened there. The dozens of slaves held there had been beaten and tortured and being there gave me a new insight to something that you only read in books. Just like with Hurricane Katrina, it made slavery real. I think overall, this was one of my most moving points in the trip, and I’m glad I went, because I do think it’s important to learn about our history, and how it affected the minority, not only the slaveowners, but the slaves. I bought a book on slave ideologies through time in America, and I plan to read it as soon as I get the chance.
Along with learning tons about the history of New Orleans, I also learned a lot about the culture. The food, the music, the architecture, all of it was so much more than I expected. I understand all of the stereotypes that came along with New Orleans now, mostly because a lot of them were true. The music was even better than I was told, the people were even nicer, the food was more amazing than I could imagine, and there’s nowhere else on earth that you can find such an amazing and lively combination of Creole food and New Orleans living. Going to cafes and restaurants were some of the highlights of my trip and seeing the nightlife on bourbon street has told me that I need to come back when I turn 21. We saw street performers everywhere, and even heard them at night. Downtown in the French Quarter, it seems like something is always happening, someone’s getting married or a band is playing, or a festival is happening or a concert. Almost anything involving music can be expected there and I loved it. I knew the music was amazing, but I didn’t expect it to be that amazing.
Back to the actual service part of our break, building houses was my favorite part by far. So many power tools were learned that it was scary, but I think that learning these things is important regardless of what field you go into. I personally want to go into construction, so obviously this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It solidified to me that I really do want to be in this because I love building things and watching this house improving by the hour even. My favorite day easily was the last day when we put windows in. We got so much done in a matter of hours, and that feeling of actually accomplishing something, especially for the reasons behind it, was more amazing than I can even explain. The before and after pictures made this whole trip worth every penny and every splinter I got from the plywood.
Overall, this was one of the most influential trips of my life, and I definitely plan on going back next year. I really hope to see the finished product of what we helped build, and I hope it goes to someone that can really make a difference in that community. My goal of this trip was to have fun but help people along the way and accomplishing that has made me a better person and hopefully opened my eyes to a whole new world of service breaks.
- Deann Towne